Island Beneath the Sea: A Novel [Paperback]

“Allende is a master storyteller at the peak of her powers.”—Los Angeles Times

TheNew York Timesbestselling author ofThe House of the SpiritsandA Long Petal of the Seatells the story of one unforgettable woman—a slave and concubine determined to take control of her own destiny—in this sweeping historical novel that moves from the sugar plantations of Saint-Domingue to the lavish parlors of New Orleans at the turn of the ninteenth century.

The daughter of an African mother she never knew and a white sailor, Zarité—known as Tété—was born a slave on the island of Saint-Domingue. Growing up amid brutality and fear, Tété found solace in the traditional rhythms of African drums and the mysteries of voodoo.

Her life changes when twenty-year-old Toulouse Valmorain arrives on the island in 1770 to run his father’s plantation, Saint Lazare. Overwhelmed by the challenges of his responsibilities and trapped in a painful marriage, Valmorain turns to his teenaged slave Tété, who becomes his most important confidant. The indelible bond they share will connect them across four tumultuous decades and ultimately define their lives. 

“Entertaining. . . . The canvas contains no less than the revolutionary history of the world’s first black republic. . . . Allende revels in period details. . . . Her cast is equally vibrant. . . . In a welcome revision, Allende brings women to the forefront of the story of rebellion.” -New York Times Book Review

“Exuberant passions, strong heroines and intricate plots . . . a world as enchanted—and enchanting—as it is brutal and unjust. . . . Allende propels the reader through great atrocities on the momentum of page-turning drama, and in so doing, creates a unique entry point into histories that deserve to be told.lS9